iProceed Blog: Shortest path to strategic growth

Strategy is interesting

BNET tracks what business leaders are interested in, based on the activity on its website. While this may not be the definitive indicator of business interest, I still found it fascinating because it shows that the highest level of interest was in strategy (maybe BNET simply attracts more of the strategy types or the strategy types just read more).

There are a couple of other interesting observations that I would like to make based on BNET findings and the tremendous success of iProceed's efforts to bring strategy to every business.

While there is tremendous interest in strategy, it is mostly confined to analysis, strategic planning process, and management tools. There is virtually no interest in competitive
strategy, which I consider far more important.

There is significantly lower interest in finance and leadership, both of which are so intimately linked to creating high value companies.

Human resources was second in importance, just below strategy. Wow, that's
good. So finally someone is realizing that happy employees make happy customers

Local search marketing? Exploit it for growth

Google has been testing its local search for a while while Overture has recently launched its own version. Overture actually claims half-a-mile radius vs. Google's 20-mile radius. Good news for micro-businesses but I see tremendous new growth opportunities for small businesses if you can just find innovative ways to exploit this. When a large portion of search will become local, you want to make sure that you are also found in those searches. Here are some possible ideas:

When Laconia, NH holds its motorcycle rally, local businesses have a difficult time fulfilling demand for all kinds of products and services. If you are a regional car rental company with no offices in Laconia, how about creating a creative marketing campaign to attract all those renters who would be interested in car rentals while visiting Laconia?

When international visitors descend in a small town in upstate New York for a conference organized by a local university, what can you market to them if you are based in California? Interpreters, takeout cuisines from other countries, local sightseeing tours, etc?

The choices can be enormous. So think creatively and market locally...

Knowledge workers everywhere

Lee Smith writes in Wired about Dubai, the "Tech Mecca". He quotes O.B.Sulaiman, CEO of Internet City, one of Dubai's industrial "free zones" as saying, "The goal is to have 5 million knowledge workers by 2010." Internet City is the biggest IT complex in the Middle East and with its location provides perfect opportunity to have employees work round the clock (and probably take some pressure off Indian workers who literally work all night).

But this is not what makes me write this post. What I have seen during last 10 years is that while we have gradually transitioned to where we are today, the rest of the world doesn't have to do it. I remember what a big deal it was to have a cell phone just a few years ago. Many people in Asia made their first phone call on a sleek cell phone. Or in other words, knowledge workers will now be everywhere, not just in Silicon Valley or Boston.

Recommended link: End of "knowledge economy"; birth of "wisdom economy"